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She did it last time...how do I keep her from doing it this time? (formula eater) Update*

My older daughter is going to be 3 in July. She was 14 months old when her baby sister was born. She has a new sibling coming in November.

When her sister was a baby, she would get into the powdered baby formula and eat it. After dumping most of the container on the floor. No matter where I put it. In the kitchen cabinet, in a drawer, hell, even the top shelf in the closet.

She would climb and get it. Every time. There was no putting it up. There was no hiding it from her. The second my back was turned, she had it and was eating it by the scoop.

How do I keep it from happening this time with the new baby? She's just bigger now, and more easily accessible to things.

And before people tell me to breastfeed, I do that as well. I don't produce enough milk to feed full-time. I tried it with my daughters. I breastfed my older daughter until she was 6 weeks old and the doctors told me she was going into failure to thrive because I didn't have enough milk.

***Update
She is a normal child, advanced in speech. She did this the entire year her sister was on formula. At that time, she was 14 months until a couple of months after 2. She had been to a doctor, she's not lacking nutrients. Out may have been because she had just been taken off formula 2 months before her sister came. Most likely just remembered seeing me make bottles for her. I'm trying to help keep it from happening when the new baby comes.

Again to the breastfeeding moms. My daughter was 6 lbs 12 oz at birth. I strictly breastfed for 6 weeks. At her check up, she was under 5 lbs. That is not normal. So I had to switch to formula.

Just tell her no touching that can and enforce a consequence. Does she listen to you normally? There are some things that should be hands off no matter what. If you have to, purchase a small locker that can be locked.

I am hoping that at 3 yrs old she would not be driven to eat that crap like she would in toddler years. Try offering somehing more enticing to her. At this age you can start giving her choices to make. Ex- You can have an apple or a banana. Do you want to wear the red shirt or yellow shirt . I have a strong willed child as well and yet she knew to stay away from things when we told her.

You can listen to mommy or you can go into time out was a big one for our home. Time out was a natural consequence for not listening.

Where are you when this is going on? Is she eating enough and eating well? I had a 6 year old foster son who did this because he didn't want to eat real food. He would steal the can after we went to bed :-/.

Teach her. Was she not punished when she did it?? At 3 she should know better. Make the punishment fit the crime so to speak. Make it sever enough to get to through to her that what she did was wrong.

Quoting RiotPixie:

My older daughter is going to be 3 in July. She was 14 months old when her baby sister was born. She has a new sibling coming in November.

When her sister was a baby, she would get into the powdered baby formula and eat it. After dumping most of the container on the floor. No matter where I put it. In the kitchen cabinet, in a drawer, hell, even the top shelf in the closet.

She would climb and get it. Every time. There was no putting it up. There was no hiding it from her. The second my back was turned, she had it and was eating it by the scoop.

How do I keep it from happening this time with the new baby? She's just bigger now, and more easily accessible to things.

And before people tell me to breastfeed, I do that as well. I don't produce enough milk to feed full-time. I tried it with my daughters. I breastfed my older daughter until she was 6 weeks old and the doctors told me she was going into failure to thrive because I didn't have enough milk.

Then you didn't punish her. Saying No won't do a thing. My kids never got into the can. It sat on the counter. Well dd did make a bottle for ds once because she wanted to help but never played or ate any.

Quoting RiotPixie:

She is very strong-willed and stubborn. If she wants something, telling her no is totally ineffective. I'll try the lock box. I was literally buying formula 3x more often. It was expensive.

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